The future LOOKS BRIGHT
Kiwi kids’ oral health is something to smile about, thanks to a unique collaboration
A sa Plunk et nurse, Alice Dalzell says she wears many different hats. “I’m privileged in my line of work to see the true realities of family life,” she explains. “I arrive at the door an unknown face meeting a family’s new baby, and I am forever welcomed into their home. It’s so humbling.
“One of my roles as a Plunket nurse is to inform and support about dental care,” tells Alice. “In other words, I enable parents to be their child’s very first dentist.” She says the close collaboration between Colgate, the New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) and Plunket improves oral health in children.
“I recently worked with a young family who’d moved to New Zealand and to the parents’ surprise, I gifted their children with a Colgate toothbrush and toothpaste.
“The more we discussed the importance of brushing teeth with a smear of fluoride toothpaste, not rinsing toothpaste from the mouth after brushing, not letting a child fall asleep while sucking on a bottle, plus regularly lifting their child’s lip to check for early signs of tooth decay, the more I saw them enabled in their ability to take care of their child’s teeth,” she says.
“Being a Plunket nurse is about the connections I make to support and promote child and family health,” adds Alice. These connections are formed with mothers, fathers, family and whanau.
“Once parents are supported, informed and reassured, they flourish and in turn, so does the growth and development of their child. I cannot think of anything more rewarding than being a nurse, where my input influences a child’s health and benefits them for a lifetime.
“I think the best way to form a connection with families is to be as human as possible,”Alice explains. “We’ve all experienced situations where we haven’t felt listened to, which is why I want to see families encouraged to learn about their child’s health. The way to do that is to listen and enable others.”
Alice laughs, “It’s also a great advantage knowing all the nursery rhymes and sing-alongs from my time spent working in early childhood education!”